Aequitas Capital Launches New RIA Membership Network

PORTLAND, Ore., July 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Aequitas Capital, an alternative asset management firm focused on private credit and private equity solutions through its specialty finance and asset management  divisions, has launched Aequitas Capital Partners (ACP). ACP is a new business division created to support growth-oriented Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) with intellectual, financial, and human capital to fuel succession planning and firm mergers or acquisitions.

This amalgam of best-of-breed RIA member firms is Aequitas' new investment advisor operating division. ACP serves as a strategic ally for RIAs who have demonstrated a desire and capacity for growth, and have an appreciation for institutional-quality alternative investments as a core holding in their high-net-worth client portfolios. The firm offers extensive resources with access to human intelligence, financial capital, and shared services, resulting in operational alpha to help RIAs gain economies of scale, operational efficiency, profit margin expansion, and ultimate enterprise-value enhancement. 

Many of the leaders of today's RIAs, who are between the ages of 55 and 62, have successful practices and significant industry experience. ACP recognizes that many of these advisors are beginning to think about their retirement. They have spent decades painstakingly growing successful businesses one client at a time. Now, in the later years of their careers with the 2008 financial crisis well in their rearview mirror, they need to accelerate growth to meet their retirement objectives and improve their business valuations.

The best way to accelerate that time is through acquisition and that generally requires an infusion of capital. ACP—with support from its parent company, Aequitas—arms RIAs with equity, cash flow lending, or asset-based lending, to fund merger and acquisitions, lift-outs, and expedited recruiting of advisors.

"We are broadening the scope of Aequitas' services to address the challenges of mid-sized RIAs. This is the fastest-growing segment of advisors, expanding at a rate of 20 to 30 percent each year," said Bob Jesenik, CEO and co-founder of Aequitas. "Unfortunately, these firms are often too large to qualify for government-backed small business loans, yet too small to attract private equity firms. We hope to become the dedicated growth partner they need, and provide them with the right resources to grow from a small- to mid-sized firm to a thriving enterprise."

As an ACP member, RIAs can access growth capital, as well as industry thought leaders in multiple disciplines through the Aequitas Financial Services Network. The network is a collection of dynamic financial services companies with deep roots and diverse capabilities in alternative asset origination, investment banking, business valuation, outsourced CIO services, alternative product platforms, and training and education on alternative investments, all provided by industry experts who serve the RIA community.

Aequitas is an ideal partner with a comprehensive platform for this endeavor, with teams that have extensive background in investment banking, capital formation, SMB lending, merger & acquisitions, asset-backed lending, operating infrastructure, and more than 20 years of managing private debt and equity strategies. RIAs can tap into that experience and expertise, and also access the institutional quality, leading-edge alternative investment strategies that Aequitas offers.

"ACP is the right partner for RIAs who value intellectual, financial, and human capital to support their growth initiatives ," said ACP President Keith E. Gregg, a long-time wealth management executive who has an extensive background in building business platforms that support leading RIAs and their clientele. Mr. Gregg, the founder and former CEO of Innovation Equity Partners and IEP Financial, a hybrid broker/dealer and RIA firm for independent financial advisors, is uniquely qualified to address the specific growth needs of small- to mid-sized entrepreneurial RIAs.

"The wealth management business is evolving, and advisors need a partner who can help them weather the challenges of business succession plans, expansions, regulatory change, and technological advancements. Many who have broken free from the wirehouses simply need help in growing as an entrepreneur and a business owner," he added.

Aequitas recently invested in Fieldstone Financial Management, a fee-only financial planning and investment advisory firm seeking capital for mergers and acquisitions. "As an entrepreneur with limited resources for acquisitions, I found that my prospects for growth were constrained, with almost no organic growth, and our expansion stalled. But with our newfound partnership with ACP, and access to capital from Aequitas, we now have the resources to scale our business, boost our profits, and build upon our enterprise. ACP understands the complex challenges that small- to mid-sized growth-oriented RIAs face," said Fieldstone Founder and CEO Kristofor R. Behn.

About Aequitas Capital
Founded in 1993, Aequitas Capital is an alternative investment management company dedicated to innovation, discipline, and excellence. With proven expertise in finance, management, and technology, and a focus on undervalued, high-yielding strategies, Aequitas sources, structures, and implements Private Credit and Private Equity solutions, benefiting the institutions and high-net-worth clients that trust us as a valuable investment partner.

For more information, please visit www.aequitascapital.com.

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SOURCE Aequitas Capital